The present invention relates to medical systems and methods and more particularly to the analysis of human brain waves by quantitative electroencephalography ("QEEG").
Human brain electrical activity ("brainwaves") may be detected by electrodes placed on the scalp of a subject. The subject's brainwaves reflect brain functions including information processing and cognition. Individuals suffering from disorders of these functions might benefit from intervention, such as specific pharmaceutical treatment, if precise diagnostic information were available.
A methodology based on digital data processing using computers has been developed, called "neurometrics". It provides quantitative information about brain activity related to anatomical integrity, developmental maturation, and mediation of sensory, perceptual and cognitive processes.
Digital computer-based methods permit examination of those brainwaves which are transient electrical oscillations or "evoked potentials" (EP's) elicited by sensory stimuli, such as visual flashes or auditory clicks. Analyses of EP's provide information about the structural integrity of the brain and yield insights into many aspects of brain function concerned with the reception, encoding, processing, and evaluation of information.
It has been especially difficult to obtain accurate diagnoses of various psychiatric disorders or to confirm the accuracy of such diagnoses by independent measures. Psychiatric diagnosis remains almost entirely dependent upon the subjective interpretation of the patient's verbal behavior during a diagnostic interview. Often, the patient is unable or unwilling to provide meaningful answers to questions about his symptoms or circumstances. The verbal products of a patient, even when provided, are often ambiguous in meaning. Furthermore, it is possible that sufficient information for accurate diagnosis is actually not available by verbal interactions under even the most favorable conditions. Verbal statements may be considered as being symptoms, and similar symptoms can be produced by various underlying causes. Objective methods which can directly reveal pathophysiological processes are needed to improve and confirm the accuracy of psychiatric diagnosis.
A series of prior patents and patent applications, naming the inventor of the present application as their inventor, provides a considerable amount of background information regarding details of certain portions of the system and method of the present invention; and consequently these patents and applications are specifically referred to below and incorporated herein by reference.
The patents and applications are as follows:
______________________________________ PATENTS Patent No. Title Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,901,215 Method of Testing the Senses and August 26, 1975 Cognition of Subjects 4,188,956 Analysis, Display and Classifica- February 19, 1980 tion of Multivariate Indices of Brain Function - A Functional Electro-Physiological Brain Scan 4,201,224 Electroencephalographic Method May 6, 1980 and System for Quantitative De- scription of Patient Brain States 4,417,592 Digital Electroencephalographic November 29, 1983 Instrument and Method 4,545,388 Self-Normed Brain State Moni- October 8, 1985 toring 4,557,270 Electroencephalographic System December 10, 1985 For Intra-Operative Open-Heart Surgery 4,705,049 Intraoperative Monitoring . . . November 10, 1987 Self-Optimizing Digital Comb Filter ______________________________________ APPLICATIONS Applica- tion No. Title Filing Date ______________________________________ 044,438 Electroencephalographic System August 4, 1986 Data Display ______________________________________